Char revivification apparatus



May 218, 1946. v R a KENT 2,400,935

CHAR REVIVIFICATION APPARATUS Filed May 23, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l IINVENTOR.

May 28, 1946. V s KENT 2,400,935.

CHAR REVIVIFICAT ION APPARATUS Filed May 23, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY.

Patented May 28, 1946 PATENT OFFlE 2,400,935 CHAR REVIVIFICATION APPARATUS Robert Sayre Kent, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application May 23, 1944, Serial No. 536,894

(or. 202-131) This invention relates, generally, to an improved 4 Claims.

apparatus for revivifying or decarbon'izing filtrate material such as char or bone-black.

As is well understood by those skilled in the art, a filtrate material such as char, which has been used in filtration operations, may be revivified and freed from excess carbon content by baking the same in a kiln or retort heated to a cherry red heat, whereby the impurities collected in the pores of the char particles are burnt or distilled off, so that the filtering value of the charis brought back to'its initial efficiency. In carrying out such revivification process, the moist used char is first passed through a drier, preferably of the rotary type, to substantially free the same from moisture, whereupon it is delivered to and passed through a kiln, suchas a furnace heated rotary kiln, to burn or distil off the impurities; the thus treated char, while still in a highly heated condition (having a temperature of approximately 800" F.), is then discharged from the kiln and passed through cooling apparatus, whereby it is cooled by transfer of heat therefrom (usually down to a temperature of a proximately 200? F).

Having the above described practice in view, it is an object of this invention to provide means for reclaiming the heat removed from the revivified char passing through the cooler for reuse in the revivification processes, whereby to expedite and increase the eillciency of such processes; and, to this end, means is provided for transferring the heat removed from the char to an air stream, and thereupon delivering thus preheated air to the drier, preferably in counterfiow relation to the moist char passing through the latter on its way to the kiln, whereby not only to expedite the char drying step, but also to somewhat raise thetemperature of the char preliminary to delivery thereof into the kiln, so that the kiln efficiency or capacity or both is enhanced.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be understood from the following detailed description of the same.

An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1-is an elevational view in part section of interconnected drier, kiln and cooler means of char revivification apparatus according to this invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the char cooler and heat reclamation means of the apparatus, said view being drawn on an enlarged scale; and Fig. 3 1st. horizontal sectional view, taken on line 3--3 in Fig. 2.

Similar characters of reference are employed in the above described views, to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character It indicates a kiln heating furnace, usually built of brick. The upper interior portion-of said furnace provides a main rotary kiln drum chamher I I, through which extends the kiln drum l2. Said kiln drum usually comprises a hollow cylindrical steel shell, the external ends of which are suitably supported upon cradle frames l3 for rotation about its longitudinal axis, and so as to incline downwardly from its receiving end It toward its discharge end l5. As well known to the art, any suitable power transmission means may be provided for rotating the kiln drum I2.

The lower interior portion of the furnace I0 is constructed to provide a fire-box it from which extends a combustion chamber l1. Thefire-box and combustion chamber is'separated from the kiln drum chamber llby a transverse arch i8, which is provided, at the end opposite the firebox, with a port l9 affording communication between said combustion chamber and said kiln drum chamber.

Located above the aforesaid furnace heated kiln is a drier housing 20, the interior of which provides a drier drum chamber 2! through which extends a drier drum 22. Said drier drum also comprises a hollow cylindrical steel shell,.the external ends of which are suitably supported upon cradle frames 23 for rotation about its longitudinal axis, and so as to incline downwardly from its receiving end 24 toward its discharge end 25. As also well known to the art, any suitable transmission means may be provided for rotating said drier drum 22.

The kiln drum chamber H is provided with an outlet port 26 which is connected by piping 21 in communication with the interior of the drier drum chamber 2|,preferably at a point adjacent to one end of the latter. The opposite end of said drier drum chamber 2| is connected by piping 28 in communication with a flue or stack 29.

Wet char from a storage means or hopper 30 is delivered into the receiving end 24 of the drier drum 22 by a delivery chute means 3| which leads from said storage means or hopper.

The discharge end 25 of the drier drum 22 is closed by a suitable hood 32, and in like manner the receiving end of the kiln drum I2 is closed by a similar hood 33. Char dried in the drier drum 22 is discharged therefrom into the hood 32, to be thence delivered through a drop pipe 34 which enters the hood 33 of the kiln drum l2. Said drop pipe 34 terminates in adelivery chute kiln drum.

' means 85 which discharges the dried char into closed-by a suitable hood-38. Revivified char is discharged from the discharge end I! of said kiln drum into said hood 36, to be thence delivered through a drop pipe 31 to a char cooler means, which is located below said discharge end of the The char cooler means, in an illustrative form thereof as shown, comprises a suitably shaped casing 38 mounted on a supporting framework 39.

air discharge conduit I2 ieadsfrom the hood.

The upper end ofsaid casing 38 is closed by a top end wall 40, through which the drop pipe 31 enters to communicate with the casing interior. The bottom end of said casing 38 is provided with a funnel-like bottom end wall 4| from which leads the cooler discharge pipe 42, which serves to convey away the cooled revivifled char to suitable storage means (not shown).

Amxed across the upper interior of said casing 38, so as to be suitablyspaced below the closed top end thereof, is a suitably shaped top partition wall 43. In like manner, ai'flxed across the lower interior of said casing 38, so as to be suitably spaced above the closed bottom end thereof, is a bottom partition wall M. Said partition walls define an intermediate cooler chamber 55 through which a cooling fluid may circulate.

Extending betwee said top and bottom partiit, which encloses the receiving end ofthe drier drum 22, to said flue or stack 29.

Y In the operation of apparatus for char reviviflcation, after the moisture content of the char to betreated has been substantially driven off therefrom by its passage through the drier. the char is delivered into and caused to flow through the highly heated kiln, so that the content of excess and inactive carbon, which it accumulated during its previous use as a filtrate material, together with other impurities, are burnt or distilled off, thereby revivifying the char for reuse as afiltratematerial.

In passing through the kiln, the temperature of the char is raised to approximately 800? F.. at

which temperature it is discharged to the cooler. The function of the cooler is to reduce the temperature of the char to approximately 200 F.,

before it is deposited in storage. This means that approximately 600 F. of heat is transferred to the cooling medium circulated through the cooler, and, so far as'the char reviviflcation process is concerned, has heretofore become waste heat. By the method and apparatus of this invention, this waste heat is reclaimed and applied to useful work in the char reviviflcation process per se. This is accomplished by t'ranferring heat from the char passing through the cooler to a fluid tion walls 63 and 4 so as to communicate with the casing interior above and below said partition walls, are a series of perpendicular and relatively laterally spaced, endwise open cooler tubes 68, which extend through the cooler chamber 65 so as to be surrounded by the cooling fluid circulated therethrough,

According to this invention, the cooling fluid employed is, preferably, relatively cold air. Connected in communication with the lower portion of said cooler chamber is an outwardly open air intake mean 41- of suitable shape. Within and across the air intake means is. arranged a blower for inducing forced flow of cool air into and through the cooler chamber 45. Said blower comheat transfer contact with all portions of the cooler tubes 46, the interior of said cooler chamber is subdivided by a plurality of staggered transverse bafiie plates 5| The air, to which heat has been transferred from the hot char, in the cooling of the latter as it passes downwardly through the cooler tubes 48, is discharged into the conduit 50. This conduit 50 is extended to communicate with the interior of the drier drum 22, preferably so as to enter the discharge end of the latter for flow.

capable of serving as a vehicle therefor, as well as one which can be brought into direct contact with the char being processed. For such purpose,-a gaseous fluid such as air provides a satisfactory medium. Accordingly, air-is introduced into and caused to flow in intimate contact with the cooler tubes through which the hot char passes, whereby heat is transferred from the char to said air, with resultant desired cooling of the former. The resulting hot air is thereupon conducted to the char drier, .and caused to flow therethrough in direct contactwith the char passing therethrough on its way to the kiln, preferably in counterflow relation thereto. The hot air thus brought into contact with the moist char rapid and efficient drying of the char. The hot air stream also more efficiently ventsthe vapors from the drying char by. carrying the same to the flue or stack 29 for escape therethrough. Not only is the char, in this manner, more rapidly dried, but also the temperature thereof is raised so that it becomes more quickly responsive to the revivifying eflbcts of the kiln heat, when delivered and passed through the kiln. As a consequence of this, speed of flow of the char through both the drier and the kiln may be stepped up, and the efllciency or capacity or both-of the kiln is substantially increased. It has been calculated that the capacity of the drier-kiln apparatus is,

g by use of the heat reclaimed at the cooler, in-

therethrough counterto the direction of movement of and in direct contact with char passing therethrough for drying. To this end, .the delivery end of said conduit 50 is arranged to communicate with the interior of the hood 32 by which the discharge end ofsaid drier drum 22 is enclosed. The hot air, after passing through the drier drum 22 is conducted to and vented through the flue or stack 29, and, to this end. an

creased from ten to twenty per cent.

It will be understood that many changes could be'made in the construction and arrangement of the apparatus without departing from the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims. It is therefore intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for the purposes described, a

rotary kiln drum and a rotary drier drum relatively mounted so that the discharge end of the latter is adjacent-to the receiving end of the former, char conducting means between the discharge end of said drier drum and the receiving end of said kiln drum, a cooler having char passage means, means for delivering hot char discharged from said kiln drum into said cooler for movement through its char passage means, means for flowing a gaseous cooling medium through said cooler in contact with the char passage means thereof, whereby to transfer heat from said hot char to said medium, and means for conducting the heated medium from said cooler and delivering the same into said drier drum for movement through the latter in contact with the tumbling char passing therethrough.

2. In apparatus for the purposes described, a rotary kiln drum and a. rotary drier drum relatively mounted so that the discharge end oi. the latter is adjacent to the receiving end of the former, char conducting means between the discharge end of said drier drum and the receiving end of said kiln drum, a cooler having char passage means, means for delivering hot char dis- I charged from said kiln drum into said cooler for movement through its char passage means, means for flowing a gaseous cooling medium through said cooler in contact with the char passage means thereof, whereby to transfer heat from said not char to said medium, and means for conber from said receiving chamber to said discharge ducting the heated medium from said cooler and delivering the same into the discharge end of said drier drum for movement therethrough in counterflowing direct contact with the tumbling char passing therethrough, a flue, and means for conducting said medium ;trom the receiving end of said drier drum to said flue for discharge therefrom.

3. In apparatus for the purposes described, a rotary kiln drum and a rotary drier drum relatively mounted so that the discharge end of the latter is adiacent to the receiving end 01 the former, char conducting means between the discharge end or said drier drum and the receiving 45 end of said kiln drum, means to heat said kiln chamber, means for inducting relatively cool air into said cooling chamber to contact said char passage tubes, whereby to transfer heat from the hot char traversing said tubes to said air, and means leading from said cooling chamber for conducting heated air therefrom and delivering the same into said drier drum for direct-contact with the tumbling char passing therethrough.

4. In apparatus for the purposes described, a rotary kiln drum and a rotary drier drum'relatively mounted so that the discharge end of the latter is adjacent to the receiving end of the former, char conducting means between the discharge end of said drier drum and the receiving end of said kiln drum, means to heat said kiln drum, means to apply heat externally to said drier drum,'a cooler, means for delivering hot char discharged from said kiln drum into said cooler, said cooler comprising a casing interiorly subdivided to provide a char receiving chamber, a char discharge chamber and an intermediate cooling chamber, a plurality of spaced char passage tubes extending through said cooling chamber from said receiving chamber to said discharge chamber, means for inducting relatively cool air into said cooling chamber to contact said char passage tubes, whereby to transfer heat from the hotchar traversing said tubes to said air, and

means leading from said cooling chamber tor conducting heated air therefrom and delivering the same into the discharge end of said drier drum tor movement therethrough in counterflowi'ng direct contact with the tumbling char passing therethrough, a flue, and means for conductme said air from the receiving end of said drier drum t said flue for discharge therefrom.

ROBERT SAYRE KENT. 

